BUT WILL IT BE A CRASH LANDING??? Only time will tell on this one. With Michael Vick signing with the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday, the city of brotherly love is frothing with feedback, both good and bad. After an initial HOLY CRAP reaction as the news smacked me in the face yesterday, I didn’t even give a second thought to Andy Reid welcoming another lightning rod for controversy after surviving the T.O. experiment, the Eagles seem like an OKAY fit . . .

Stable organization and coaching staff – CHECK

Loyal fan base who for the majority, wouldn’t jump ship – CHECK

Team who knows how to deal with adversity – CHECK

Solid quarterback situation – Ummmm . . .

Wasn’t it the Philadelphia fans who lobbied for the end of McNabb’s injury-plagued career as an Eagle last season? Or most seasons as of late? Wasn’t it Andy Reid who benched his beloved Donovan in favor of the wet behind the ears second year QB, Kevin Kolb? Solid at the quarterback position they are NOT. I don’t care if he signed an extension to try and quiet the get rid of Donovan chatter . . . McNabb will constantly be looking over his shoulder now. And with the knee jerk Philly fan reaction, the second that chunky soup slurper throws a couple of interceptions, chants for Michael Vick will be heard through out the city. Here are a few more thoughts on the Eagles’ new toy:

WHY? Just wondering why a team one win away from the Super Bowl last season would want to add such a controversial player to the mix . . .

Since he IS there – why not use him as a kick returner? All I keep hearing about is the wildcat offense . . . and they can obviously use his talents with that formation, however he would be electric as a return specialist as well. He’s going to need touches – you can’t keep legs like that standing on the sidelines with a clipboard . . .

As soon as Vick makes a sensational play, all the negative talk from the “disgusted” fans will die down. That’s how sports fans are . . .

This is what I have to say to all of the “how dare the NFL let him back in the league – what is that teaching our children?” commentary – Why are you letting the NFL teach your kids? Why not use it as evidence that people make mistakes, suffer the consequences, learn the necessary lessons and can still work hard to be successful?

Wonder if Michael Vick will change his hotel alter ego name from Ron Mexico to Ben Franklin?

In a week that began with three blowouts on Thanksgiving, leaving football fans unaffiliated with the victorious starving for competitive contests, the playoff picture began to shape up a bit heading into the final quarter of the season. Well, somewhat . . .

Here are my thoughts on some of the games and players who managed not to shoot themselves in the leg this past weekend – more on that idiocy later:

A THIRD HELPING OF DOMINATION PLEASE: Okay, so we knew the first two games would be exciting only for fans of Tennessee and Dallas, but the last game slated for Thanksgiving night between Arizona and Philadelphia looked as if it would measure up to be a competitive one, right? Donovan McNabb named as starter for a chance to redeem himself after being benched for the untested Kevin Kolb the week before . . . Kurt Warner and the greatest show on field turf ventures back to the east coast to see if they can exorcise their “yeah, but” demons . . . Both teams have birds for nicknames . . .

And that was the ONLY thing these two foes had in common once they stepped onto Lincoln Financial Field. Donovan McNabb broke the wishbone and got the big piece – 4TD passes, 260 yards through the air and went 27 for 39, finishing with a completion percentage of over 66 percent.

Arizona now owns a record of 7-5 and leads the putrid NFC West with the majority of their wins coming within their own division, and their losses all to teams with winning records. What does that spell? A high flying F-L-U-K-E . . .

In the two earlier games, Dallas looked like an offensive machine and their defense chipped in with seven sacks against the lowly Seahawks. The only hitch in the Cowboys giddy-up came when the NFL’s sack leader, DeMarcus Ware (15 sacks), Marion the Barbarian, and guard Kyle Kosier were injured. And the Titans walloped the Lions so badly that I am beginning to believe Detorit won’t be able to buy a win this season. Are they next in line for a bailout?

NO PLAYOFFS FOR YOU: San Diego isn’t charging anything these days. At 4-8, they are completely and udderly out of contention. The offense line is just that – OFF – Ladainian Tomlinson is a shadow of himself and the loss of Shawne Merriman looms as the most costly in the league this year. A third loss in a row at home to Oakland on Thursday would be a humiliating capper to their season, because it’s OVAH . . .

CIRCLE THE WAGONS – IT’S TIME TO PACK IT IN: Ah, the beauty of a new season . . . kinda like falling in love all over again, until that love is put to the test. After Buffalo began the season with four straight wins, media and fans started to fall for those Bills. Now sitting at 6-6 and taking a look back, those victories were against Seattle, Jacksonville, Oakland and St. Louis . . . not so impressive anymore, right? A loss to Arizona and a win over San Diego (see above) preceeded their latest run of six games where their only win came over the Chiefs, otherwise known by their full name “Chief Two Wins”. If all the other contending teams lose and Buffalo wins out, they may have a chance. Reality is, they don’t. The honeymoon is over in Buffalo, but the question is, did it ever really start?

Other teams that slapped a big L on their foreheads for the year after losing in Week 13: Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears – no chance to come back now. The pack is too thick and too much has to go wrong for everyone ahead in the standings . . . better luck next year . . .

HOLY TURNOVER BATMAN: Forcing five turnovers in the second half against the Patriots at home, the Steelers put the SLOP in New England’s sloppy play, leading to a 33-10 statement win. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebackers, James Harrison and Lamar Woodley, have a friendly competition going to see who can sack the quarterback more . . . with 14 for the year, Harrison is winning by 2.5 sacks. That makes a total of 25.5 sacks between the two, the most is Steelers history. He is third in the league and is making a case for not only Defensive Player of the Year, but also for MVP. Why? The #1 ranked defense in the Steel City is striking fear in the hearts, minds, and especially bodies, of quarterbacks and offensive coordinators everywhere, and is more responsible for their success while playing the most difficult schedule in the league than Big Ben and their efficient offense that hangs int here and makes a team pay for mistakes. And James Harrison is the stand out piece of Dick LeBeau’s puzzling defensive scheme in 2008. Troy Polamalu, Lamar Woodley, and Lawrence Timmons have also made huge contributions. All in all, I wouldn’t want to face the latest version of the Steel Curtain. Look out Dallas . . .

Like a team going deep into the playoffs, I gotta run. Till next time . . .

Picking up where I left off, as promised, I have a few more thoughts to share with you on the rest of the action from Week 12 in the NFL including the interesting Donovan McNabb benching and the impact it will have in the coming weeks and T.O. asking and receiving . . .

Can you believe this NFL season is almost two-thirds OVAH? Didn’t it just start? Regardless, here are the rest of my opinions on the week that was:

REID CHOOSES CORN ON THE KOLB OVER DONOVAN’S CHUNKY SOUP: Trailing in a 10-7 game at the half against the Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia coach Andy Reid had a hankering for some corn on the Kolb at quarterback, undermining the leadership ability of his franchise pro, the consumate endorser of Campbell’s Chunky Soup, Donovan McNabb. After a pitiful performance in the second half, looking completely lost and incompetent, Kevin Kolb gave up the NFL record for an interception returned for a touchdown – 108 yards to Ed Reed who even with a neck injury happened to break his own record of 106 yards to pay-dirt set back in 2004. The Eagles lost 36 – 7 so the question is, now what? Today, Andy Reid appointed McNabb as his starter against Arizona this Thursday. Will this be the jolt McNabb needed to jumpstart his game? In Reid’s words, “sometimes you need to take a step back to take a step forward.” Could we be seeing the beginning of a comeback? When you can only TIE the lowly Bengals, you have already reached the point of no return and you are NOT coming back . . .

McNabb may be endorsing a different soup next year . . .

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECIEVE: At least, that’s how it worked out for T.O. after he poured his heart and soul out to fellow “I” man Deion Sanders in an interview with NFL Newtork airing Thursday night during the Steelers – Nobody (sorry Cincinnati, you just suck, and that’s with or without Chad Ocho Cinco) telecast. BUT . . . I have to say Owens did not blow a gasket while he was held at 38 yards or less receiving for the past five games. On Sunday he was “unleashed” for his second highest receiving yard total of his career – 213 with one touchdown, which outgained his last five games put together. His best? With San Francisco in 2000, T.O. corralled 283 yards in 20 catches, an NFL record. So against that same team – the one that drafted him, Owens put on a show and gave notice that the he is here to stay . . . for now. I mean, it was only the 49ers who have a volatile interim coach trying to motivate but obviously not put his players in the best position to win, because if he was he would have suggested Nate Clements take a look at the Redskins film and bump T.O. at the line of scrimmage. But that did not happen and Owens let loose for BIG gains of 45, 52 and 75 yards, the latter going for a touchdown. Consider yourself served, NFL, the personality and production of T.O. has been resurrected in Dallas . . .

The Defense proved themselves forcing field goals on the first two drives, with 1st and goal on the 4-yard line and San Francisco coming up with only 3 points each drive. Despite two garbage time touchdowns, the Dallas D looked pretty tight, albeit against a mediocre team. With Seattle coming to town on Thanksgiving before facing Pittsburgh, the NY Giants, Baltimore and Philadelphia, they should have a 3-game winning streak going into the tough last quarter of the season at 8-4. Only time will tell if Dallas can salvage their season and get into the playoffs . . .

OAKLAND WINS AT MILE HIGH: No that’s not a typo supposed to read, Oakland gets a “mile high”, it’s the actual result of an AFC West division game this past Sunday. The Raiders kicked the Broncos ASS, 31 -10 in Denver, scoring their 6th win in only 34 tries at a division opponent. Is Al Davis excited? Ask his nurse’s aide – he can’t contain himself and has had to use his frequent bed pan changer card after a shocking win in Denver against the division leading Broncos . . . Not too much to say about that win, except it is a DISGRACE to Denver. Let’s see how Oakland does against Kansas City next week and San Diego the following week . . .

The playoff race is heating up – Stay tuned for more commentary and please feel free to add yours!